


The Process of Necessity

by smolder



Category: Cinderella (1950)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21821353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolder/pseuds/smolder
Summary: Pinch Hit Prompt: Cinderella finally snaps and ends up killing her stepfamily (poisoned porridge perhaps?) in a moment of despair.  It is not ruled a murder.  Does her fairy godmother still appear?  Does Cinderella even go to the ball?  If she does, does she and the Prince still fall in love?  Does her secret act hinder things between them?  Will she ever tell her secret to the Prince?
Relationships: Cinderella (Disney) & Original Female Character(s), Cinderella/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 41
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	The Process of Necessity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disney_gal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disney_gal/gifts).



> A/N 1: Reviews are Good. This has been a subtle hint from the author - Please return to your regularly scheduled reading.  
> A/N 2: I was just finishing up listening to the audiobook of “The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul” by Eleanor Herman when I picked up this pinch-hit and that effected my thoughts of what little Ella might use on her relatives in that approximate time, place, and with no money.

Cinders-Ella is young when she kills her step family out of despair, still a child not quite yet a young woman. And it takes days - weeks, months upon months - of long, drawn out exhausted hours of despair to get to that point. Night upon night, as she lay down on the stone floor next to the burnt out remains of the fire thinking about the very concept of family. The solidified knowledge that had formed that _these people_ would never see her as family, would never care for her as a family should. That this is _not_ what family should be.

_Not_ the life her father would have wished for her, his dear little Ella. Because to him she _had been_ dear, she had been cared for. When he was alive, she had family. _She was loved_. 

( _And Ella remembers this feeling - she is almost certain she does_.)

She examines that love as she takes the abuse every day from her Step-Mother, the Lady Tremaine, and her sisters, Anastasia and Drizella. As she is forced to do the work of many in the upkeep of the chateau and waiting upon her _family_ , since all of the servants were sent away after her Father’s money was squandered. Stays within those memories as she is cursed for every little mistake - and sometimes imagined mistakes - her small hands make. As she seems to become more cold and hungry every day. 

And so it is that ever wavering memory of feeling that hardens her _(and perhaps the knowledge that this life is causing that memory to fade_ ), that she holds tightly to her heart and makes the process, not _easy_ perhaps, but _necessary_. Because poison is it is not a quick thing. She only knows what to do, what wild things are not safe for humans, because Father used to point them out to her when they went on quiet walks together, gently warning her away from what dangers nature grew on their land. 

Now she gathers them with abandon, crushes the berries, chops the herbs up and boils them down like a potent tea to add to drinks and mixes the mushrooms into the soup. Really, it is _simple_ in a way, because given the work they heap upon her, she has access to everything: their clothing, cosmetics, bath, _drink and food_. 

So, she watches as they sicken over days, as they blame her when they feel unwell ( _but then they always do - for the first time it truly is_ ) and simply turns a blind ear when they weaken and demand the doctor. 

It is not a pretty process - but it is _necessary_.

***

The community know what the child did, but they do not rule it a murder - technically they do not _rule_ the affair anything since the matter does not go before a court. Just the group of three that answered a knock on their door and follow Ella - much too small, dirty, quiet, and soloem for her age - back to the chateau that early morning to see the bodies. 

There are many shared glances between the three that morning. They are not important in the grand scheme of things in this kingdom, but in this village they are known, are necessary, are voices that will be listened to. Raphael is a master baker, Yvette the head of the stables, and Louis is a lawyer. Before this the only thing that connected them was their fondness for this girl (their grief over her parents death). Now, they know, there will be much more. 

Everyone knew what went on in this house: the pain and indignities this girl has suffered at the hand of her Step-Mother and siblings. But as long as it had remained a “family” matter there was little they could do. 

Now, things have settled with a sort of justice - a harsh justice true, but those were harsh people to treat a child, placed in their care in such a manner. And although they will never hold it against Ella, for they know how far she was pushed, they must also make sure it was only a matter of circumstance. The fact that she made no attempt to hide though, seems to indicate this - as does, less pleasingly, her dull eyed stare.

***

After a quick and quiet burial, attended only by the grave digger and an unenthusiastic priest, they set up a caretaker to stay in the chateau with “the poor dear” whose relatives perished in “such a terrible accident”. 

Clara, the baker's daughter, is only a handful of years older than Ella but does not wish to ever marry. She will be on hand to help with the cooking and cleaning of such a large place but is there more as a roommate and teacher - and later a friend. At first Clara finds much of her energy is directed towards teaching Ella simply how to function as a person again and not a hated creature. 

Clara is not alone in her effort however, really, the whole town raise Ella after the “accident“. They all feel a sense of pride as she learns to stand tall, look people in the eyes, and occasionally smile again. 

The lawyer, Louis teaches her about good governance over what is left of her money, how to run what is left of her estate. And with the help of his wife Lisette, a seamstress, and others, she is able to sell off her step-families things for a fair price.

Yvette gathers together all the stable boys one day and they help her to plant a garden. Ella learns to tend it and, to her surprise, she finds joy and peace in the process. Over the years it grows not only, most of all Clara and her own food, but she is able to sell off or trade the overflow in the village. 

Curiosity - and pragmatism - eventually drives her to figure out what those things were she used on her step-family. Which naturally leads to medicine and what is needed for healing. Ella then regularly gathers herbs off her land for the apothecary in town and eventually learns to grow many in her expanding garden plot.

(But she still tends carefully, _fondly_ , to the yew trees, belladonna bushes, and “death cap” mushrooms. They are special - magic, even - in a secret hidden part of heart.) 

Years pass slowly, contendly, for Ella. She re-learns what love feels like and is warmed by the gentle glow of it that seems to surround her now from all sides. This is perhaps not the life her Father would have wanted for her either - not her _family_ in the strictest sense - but she believes he would have been pleased by it, nonetheless.

***

Ella sits on a padded bench and stares up at the vaulted ceiling in the antechamber of the castle. She finds it so odd that she is even in the castle, that she is attending _a Ball_ \- she doesn’t even know how to dance. It is baffling to her that a government would put out a decree that she - and every other eligible maiden in the kingdom is requested to attend.

She smooths down her dress and can’t help but smile. It is a lovely thing, a shade of green that brings out her reddish blonde hair and was mischievously embroidered with her dear belladonna by Clara for luck. Lissette made the rest of course - would have done so for free since she and Louis saw Ella as their niece, but Ella was able to hash out a trade of produce and her very own medicinal salve for the garment. 

It is the finest thing she has ever worn - Ella’s everyday life in her garden or the fields around her home do not lend themselves to such delicate fabrics. She knows from looks she received that she is most likely not in line with modern fashions or perhaps not as expensively decked out as she should be for such an event but she can not find it in herself to care. It is perfect.

Yvette, although the stubborn old woman was mostly retired now, drove Ella’s carriage for free that night ( _she probably will take some strawberries when they come into season though - Ella knows that they are a weakness_ ). Insisting that she was her escort to _and from_ the Ball. (Winking largely after that statement and then letting out a snort and Ella’s unamused stare.) 

She had wandered off immediately once she entered the ballroom. There were simply too many people, noise, and smells. And since she had no interest in the dancing or the Prince, Ella looked for a place away from it all. It had taken her nearly an hour to find this quiet antechamber. Hearing the music now at a distance in the peaceful darkness was rather pleasant. 

Suddenly, a much closer sound jarred her and Ella uneasily watched as a man carefully slid the door she had originally come through open and moved quickly into the room. His eyes darted about as if afraid someone would snatch him back and drag him away to the dancing again. Elle takes the moment before he notices her to examine the man - and he is interesting to look at. 

He has a sharp boned face somehow balanced by a large expressive mouth, his frame is almost delicate - but then _she_ is tall and sturdy for a woman. So, perhaps it is only a poor comparison. The exact shade of hair and eyes are impossible to tell in this light and at this distance - but, to her surprise, she finds she wants to know.

Ella makes no move to get up though - the dress is lovely but, oh, she hates these shoes.

That is when he sees her. He gave a small start of surprise and she smiles in reassurance and greeting. It is an odd sort of first meeting she thinks, with all of these unspoken signals. 

He approaches her bench, though still visibly uneasy, and sits perched like a bird. Ambrose, is his name, and his hair is a very ordinary brown - but his eyes are an extraordinary grey. They speak tentatively at first - of their families. He is a noble but the third son of his family. She simply says she is an orphan who has inherited her father’s estate. 

Then the weather, but unexpectedly that becomes interesting. Because the weather turns to simply the sky, or perhaps more accurately, the stars - which, it seems are one of Ambrose’s many topics of study. He speaks at length of stars that shine so very far away from us that they could have lived out their entire celestial lives and already have died and we would never know it - that the glow would take that long to reach us. Then somehow they segue into the seasons and he tells her of the monarchy of bees. Unexpectedly that jumps to the explosive properties of flour.

She felt enchanted by his enthusiasm and the breadth of his interests. Sitting beside Ambrose in the dark, listening to his bright happiness in telling her these marvels he has read - well, Elle, won’t say she fell in love then, but it is when she began to think that maybe marriage with the right person wouldn’t be so bad.

They are interrupted by a man bursting through the door in agitation. It takes a moment to even recognize him as the Prince. He seems to trip over his words in his hurry to ask them if they have seen this beautiful girl in a glowing gown - and brandishes a glass shoe as he speaks.

Ambrose stutters that no one has come through in the hours they have been seated here and the Prince slumps off. After the door is closed again their eyes meet and Ella snorts with laughter at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation which makes her companion laugh as well.

***

They have a proper courting of a year and a day; it is a good opportunity to actually get to know one another. They are well suited: both are a sort that require space and time to themselves, a personal independence in everyday life, but enjoy having someone to talk to - someone to listen to them. 

Ambrose’s parents were well pleased with the pairing since it meant they wouldn’t be breaking up their estate away from their first son since Ella brought land to the marriage. Ella’s lawyer “Uncle” was happy with the contract agreed upon that kept her equal rights once they joined ( _that she will never be placed in a position of servitude again_ ). They were _all_ pleased with the truly extensive library Ambrose brought to the chateau ( _his dowry, he always joked, later_ ) - his parents glad to have the rooms available again. 

They talk to Clara both together and individually, let her know that that the chateau is her home for as long as she wishes to live there. Ella, personally cannot imagine living there without her first friend now - married or not. It is well that she agrees to stay, since Ella and Ambrose are the sort to forget about things such as food.

Once married, Ambrose was delighted to have free reign to pursue his varied studies without mockery - and a partner who was actually interested in hearing about what he learned at the end of each day. Ella was happy her husband never tried to curtail her time digging around in a garden (that seemed to expand each year) or even her more _meditative_ work with distilling her less friendly plants for medicinal use.

When they had children Ambrose takes joy in teaching them, learning their interests and cultivating their individual abilities. _(Although, in what seems a tradition now, Ella makes sure to show her dear girls all the places, both obvious and secret, on their land where the wild things not safe for humans grow._ ) Twins, Bette and Harriett, are as eager to absorb information as their father and as independent as their mother. 

Bette apprentices with “Uncle” Louis, to his delight, and becomes the villages lawyer when he passes and Harriet becomes a falconer of renown throughout the entire kingdom.

  
It is perhaps not your typical _happily ever after_ , Ella thinks as she takes a break from trimming her yew tree and brushes back a lock of her white hair, but she _has had_ a very happy life.


End file.
